Chesapeake senior housing project eyed

By DAVID E. MALLOY For HD MediaMarch 7, 2019

CHESAPEAKE, Ohio — The same Cleveland firm that built Proctor’s Landing, a senior housing complex in Rome Township, is looking to secure financing for a similar project in Chesapeake, adjacent to the Chesapeake Community Center.

The $12 million project, dubbed Rockwood Landing, already has secured $900,000 in Federal Home Loan funds. The company, PIRHL, also is seeking $10 million in state tax credits and $750,000 from the Ohio Housing Finance Agency, according to Ralph Kline, assistant executive director of the Ironton Lawrence County Community Action Organization.

Other financing could come from a loan from the Lawrence County Port Authority and community development block grant funds through Lawrence County.

The company opened Proctor’s Landing, a three-story, 56-unit, senior housing complex less than two years ago, Kline said. The new project, to be located just downriver of the Chesapeake Community Center on Rockwood Avenue, would also be a three-story structure with 56 one-and two-bedroom units, he said.

“We have over 200 people on a waiting list,” Kline said. “There’s a huge need for affordable housing for seniors.”

Officials are looking to secure financing this year and begin construction in 2020, Kline said. Construction could begin in the spring next year and take 12 to 18 months to complete, he said. Developers hope to hear about the state tax credits by May, he said.

The senior housing project would be located at 3670 Ohio 7. The Lawrence County Board of Commissioners has gone on record in support of the project, Kline said.

Rockwood Landing is pretty much the same design as Proctor’s Landing. The new complex, however, would front on the Ohio River.

“It would be built above the 500-year flood plain,” he said.

The complex would be adjacent to the Chesapeake Community Center, which has undergone improvements including roof repairs and a new heating system in recent years, Kline said. There is a senior feeding program at a modular on the upriver side of the community center.

“We have over 200 people on a waiting list. There’s a huge need for affordable housing for seniors.”

Ralph Kline

Assistant executive director of the Ironton Lawrence County Community Action Organization